Method of attaching resilient end closures to containers



METHOD OF ATTACHING RESILIENT END CLOSURES TO CONTAINERS Original Filed April 12, 1954 Z7 x 77 z; j A -27 1a 17 r INVENTORI.

. WALTER .1. 'ooss'ms Z BY ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofitice METHOD OF ATTA'CHING RESILIENT END CLOSURES T CONTAINERS Walter J. Dobbins, Wheaton,

Can Company, New York, New Jersey 11]., assignor to American N. Y., a corporation of 4 Claims. (Cl. 5340) The present invention relates to a method of attaching end closures to containers for liquid products and has particular reference to a method of attaching resilient end closures to containers having a novel top end construction.

This is a division of my copending United States application Serial No. 422,383 filed April 12, 1954 on Container With Resilient -End Closure and Method of Attaching Closure to Container, now Patent No. 2,804,- 988.

An object of the invention is the provision of a method of attaching such a closure member to a sheet metal container wherein the closure member may be snapped into tight fitting and locked position on an upper part of the container and the part reformed for relocating and compressing the closure member into a permanently attached position on the container by the application of an axially applied pressure so that attachment of the closure member to the container may be effected rapidly and in a single operation.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container produced in accordance with the steps of the instant method invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the upper end of the finished container shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged exploded view of the component parts of the upper end of the container, with portions broken away; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the end closure in the process of being attached to the container, with portions broken away.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the invention the drawings show a dispensing container for holding corrosive liquid products such as detergents and the like and also show a method of permanently attaching a resilient noncorrosive material dispensing end closure member to the container. The container preferably comprises a tubular cylindrical sheet metal body 11 (Fig. I) made of tin plate or the like material having a sheet metal bottom end closure 12 permanently secured thereto in a suitable seam 13 and a resilient plastic material top end closure 14 also permanently secured to the body. The plastic top end closure 14 preferably is made of polyethyiene, although other plastic materials which are corrosion resistant, resilient and have at least a slight degree of elasticity may be used satisfactorily. The term plastic as used herein is intended to include all such materials as synthetic and natural resins, polymers and elastomers.

Adjacent its top edge, the body 11 is provided with a sheet metal annular U-shaped ring or element 16 2,846,831 Patented Aug. 12, 1958 (Fig. 2) which is disposed within the body and which holds the top end closure 14 in place on the container. The ring 16 is formed with a pair of spaced, upright legs which constitute an outer or countersink wall section 17 and an inner or looking wall section 18. These wall sections 17, 18 are connected by or merge into an annular bottom wall section 19. Between them the wall sections 17, 18 set off an open annular channel 21.

The upper edge of the countersink wall section 17 of the ring 16 is formed with a laterally projecting flange 23 (see also Fig. 3) which extends over the top edge of the body 11 and is interfolded with a flange 24 on the body in a conventional double seam 25 to permanently secure the ring 16 to the body. In the conventional formation of the end seam 25 the-body side wall and the countersink wall section 17 of the ring 16 are tightly pressed together and are simultaneously expanded outwardly to produce a slight upward and outward taper of about 7 degrees with the vertical, on the countersink wall section of the ring.

The inner or locking wall section 18 terminates at its upper edge in an outwardly and downwardly bent curl which provides a smooth annular curled edge 27, constituting a smooth annular locking protuberance or head for locking the top end closure 14 to the container.

The top end closure 14 as shown in the drawings is of breast formation having a domed or spherical or funnel shaped top wall section 31( Fig. 2) open at its lower or large end and merging at its top end into' a cylindrical upright dispensing nozzle 32. The exterior face of the nozzle is provided with screw threads 33' for removable attachment of a threaded metal or plastic sealing cap 34.

Surrounding its lower open end, the top end closure 14 is formed with a generally rectangular shaped enlarged annular depending flange 36 havinge a slight upwardly and outwardly tapered outer face 37 (see Fig. 4) corresponding with and slightly greater in diameter than the inner annular dimension of the countersink wall section 17 of the ring 16. The top face of the flange'36 preferably is flat and horizontal and merges into the base of the domed wall section 31 so as to avoid exterior recesses in the closure. An annular inner or locking face 39 of the flange 36 is of substantially the same or slightly greater annular dimensions than the annular dimensions of the outer face of the locking wall sec tion 18 of the ring 16 and is formed with an annular groove or locking recess 41 to receive and hold the curled edge or locking protuberance 27 on the locking wall section 18 of the ring.

' The flange 36 is disposed, in a compressed condition, in the channel 21 between the countersink Wall section 17 and the locking wall section 18 of the ring 16 with the curled edge 27 of the ring locked in the recess 41 of the flange and with the top wall of the flange substantially flush with or slightly overlapping the top edge of the end seam 25 to permanently secure the end closure 14 in place on the container. The relation of the flat top edge of the flange to the end seam 25 eliminates any exterior recesses around the top of the can for sanitary purposes. The closure 14 may be of any desired form for any purpose, as long as the depending annular flange 36 is provided to secure the closure in place on the container.

The method of attaching the closure 14 to the container comprises broadly steps of compressingthe flange 36 of the end closure 14 over the locking protuberance 27 on the locking wall section 18 and into the channel 21 of the ring 16. For this purpose the ring 16 is initially formed with the locking wall section 18 higher or of greater depth than the countersink wall section 17 as shown in Fig. 3 so that the locking curled edge 27 and a portion of the ring wall section 18 project above the top of the end seam flange 23 of the ring. The ring 16 when secured to the container body 11 is in this initially formed condition as shown in Fig. 4.

With the ring 16 initially secured to the body 11 by the double seam 25 as shown in Fig. 4, the flange 36 of the resilient end closure 14 is snapped or forced by pressure over the curled edge 27 on the ring 16 until the annular groove 41 in the closure flange receives the curled edge 27 of the ring as shown in Fig. 4. The seating of the curled edge 27 into the groove 41 locks the end closure 14 in place on the locking wall section 18 of the ring.

As the next step in the instant method, a vertical or axial pressure is applied to the flat top surface of the closure flange 36 and the curled edge 27 in a direction toward the interior of the container. This may be accomplished in any suitable manner as by the upward movement of the container toward a pressure head 51 downwardly against the supported container. The head 51 pressing against the flange 36 and the curled edge 27 simul' taneously, reforms the ring 16 by forcing the locking wall section 18 thereof downwardly into the container body in an axial direction to deepen the channel 21. This also simultaneously presses the closure flange 36, while still interlocked with the curled edge 27, downwardly into the deepened channel 21 until the top face of the flange is substantially flush with the top edge of the double seam 25 as shown in Fig. 2. Since the outer diameter of the flange 36 is slightly greater than the inner diameter of the countersink wall section 17 of the ring, the outer tapered closure face 37 is compressed tightly against the correspondingly tapered face of the countersink ring wall section 17 and the flange as a unit is compressed radially inwardly to tightly hold it against the locking protuberance or curled edge 27 in the flange groove 41, thus permanently securing the flange 36 in place in the channel 21 of the ring 16 to hold the end closure 14 permanently attached to the container.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the steps of the method described and their order of accomplishment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the method hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A method of attaching an end closure member of resilient material having an annular depending flange thereon to a container for liquid products having secured to one end thereof a U-shaped ring, said ring comprising a countersink wall section attached to the container and an inwardly spacedlocking wall section projecting upwardly above said container and in cooperation with said countersink wall section setting off an open channel between them, said method comprising engaging said closure member with said container with the closure member flange surrounding said upwardly projecting locking wall portion of said ring, and applying a pressure against said flange and said locking wall section simultaneously in a direction axially of said ring and container, whereby said locking wall section is collapsed axially into said container and said closure member flange simultaneously is compressed into said open channel to permanently attach said resilient closure member to said container.

2. A method of attaching a resilient deformable closure member to a container for liquid products having a U-shaped ring including a countersink wall section permanently secured to one end thereof, said ring further including a laterally inwardly spaced locking wall section projecting upwardly above said container and an outwardly projecting protuberance thereon, said locking wall section in cooperation with said countersink wall section setting off between them an annular open channel, said resilient closure member having an annular depending flange including an inner face of substantially the same annular dimensions as the outer annular dimensions of said locking wall section and an annular recess in said inner face to produce a snap-on closure member, said method comprising snapping said closure member over said locking wall section of said ring to engage said protuberance with said annular flange recess to initially lock said flange in position, and applying a pressure against said flange and said locking wall section simultaneously in a direction axially of said ring, whereby said locking wall section is collapsed axially in to said container and said flange is simultaneously compressed into said annular open ring channel to permanently attach said resilient closure member to said container.

3. A method of attaching to a liquid products container a resilient material closure member having an annular depending peripheral flange provided with an annular recess on the inner face thereof, said container having a U-shaped ring including a countersink wall section permanently secured to one end thereof, said ring further including an upstanding locking wall section having an outwardly projecting protuberance, said locking wall section having an outer annular dimension substantially the same as the inner annular dimension of said closure member flange and in cooperation with said countersink wall section setting off between them an open annular channel, said method comprising snapping said closure member over said ring locking wall section to engage said protuberance via said flange recess to lock said flange in position on said ring, and thereafter applying a pressure against said flange said locking wall section simultaneously in a direction axially of said ring and container, whereby said locking wall section is collapsed axially into said container and said closure member flange simultaneously is compressed between said open channel walls to permanently attach said closure member to said container.

4. A method of attaching a resilient material closure member to a container for liquid products, comprising the steps of providing a container having a U-shaped ring including a countersink wall section permanently secured to one end of said container and a laterally inwardly spaced locking wall section projecting upwardly above said container and having an outwardly projecting protuberance thereon, said locking wall section in cooperation with said countersink wall section setting off therebetween an open annular channel, providing a resilient material closure member having an annular depending flange with an inner face of substantially the same annular dimensions as the outer annular dimensions of said locking wall section and with a recess in said inner face to produce a snap-on closure member, snapping said closure member over said locking wall section of said ring with said protuberance disposed in said flange recess to lock said flange in position on said ring, and applying a pressure against said flange and said locking wall section simultaneously in a direction axially of said ring, whereby said locking wall section is collapsed axially into said container and said flange simultaneously is compressed in to said open channel to permanently attach said resilient material closure member to said container.

No references cited. 

